This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Council approves relocation of men’s shelter to Oakwood Village

City council votes to approve the relocation of a 50-bed men's shelter despite opposition from residents.

Toronto's Lobbyist Registrar Linda Gehrke in her University Ave. office last year. Gehrke wants to see tougher sanctions for lobbyists who break the city's rules. (COLIN MCCONNELL / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

Over the objections of some residents, Toronto council approved the relocation of a 50-bed men’s shelter to Oakwood Village on Wednesday.

"I expected and hoped and prayed that it would become a reality and it has,” Reverend Patrick Reid said after the 40-3 vote. “A shelter is a sign of a compassionate society and I believe…council has voted as representative of how Torontonians are.”

Councillor praised his colleagues for listening “to the better angels of our nature and ….(choosing) to be inclusive.”

During the debate, Mihevc noted that “wherever you propose to put a shelter there ….is always going to be opposition.” The shelter had been in his ward, unbeknownst too many residents, he said.

The Cornerstone Baptist Tabernacle operated the facility on St. Clair Ave. W. for 12 years but sold the building to a developer two years ago. This spring, Cornerstone made a conditional offer to buy a new site at 616 Vaughan Rd., located about a kilometre away but in neighbouring Ward 15.

Article Continued Below

The purchase required council’s rubber stamp after the Community Development and Recreation Committee endorsed the relocation despite vigorous opposition from some local residents.

Councillor , who represents Ward 15, said the new location is “really troubling” because of its history and some activity around the building. He rejected any suggestion that residents opposed were demonstrating NIMBYISM.

“It’s so dismissive and patronizing when there are legitimate concerns that people might have,” Colle said during the debate.

He also accused city staff of “botching” the process by giving residents short notice of a public meeting attended by 350 people.

City staff concluded the Vaughan address was “suitable” and recommended council approve the relocation.

Phillip Abrahams, a general manager in the city’s housing division, acknowledged the process “could have been done better and we have learned a lesson.”

Abrahams said the shelter has been on St. Clair for a dozen years “with no significant issues.”

Councillors rejected Colle’s motion to refer the issue back to city staff with a request to find a “more appropriate location” for the shelter. A referral would mean “killing” the shelter when there is already a shortage of beds for the homeless, council heard. The residents have been living off-site since the St. Clair location closed.

Along with Colle, Mayor and Councillor voted against the relocation.

Earlier at the council meeting, Toronto’s lobbyist registrar Linda Gehrke renewed her plea for stronger enforcement provisions for lobbyists who break city rules.

“We do not have the provisions, like the City of Ottawa has, to be able to temporarily ban a lobbyist who has been found to be in breach of the bylaw,” she told council.

“This is something that I hope will be looked at when the city solicitor and city manager report back on administrative sanctions in the coming term (of council).”

In Ottawa, a wayward lobbyist can be banned from lobbying officials for a month on a first offence and three months on a second offence, with the ban posted on the city’s website and circulated to councillors and staff.

“In my view, a temporary ban on lobbying is a potentially effective enforcement mechanism,” she said in her 2013 annual report, tabled at council earlier this year.

She noted that she had previously asked council for powers to issue bans and impose fines when she issued her 2010 annual report. However, council didn’t go along.

As an interim step, council on Wednesday voted 28-0 to ask Gehrke to brief councillors on examples where lobbyists have broken the rules.

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com